Contact device foe electrical



(No Model.)

1?. W. SCHINDLER-JENNY.

CONTACT DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES.

No. 532,588. Patented Jan. 15, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICEt.

FRIEDRICH IVILIIELM SOHlNDLER-JENNY, OF KENNELBACH, AUSTRIA- HUNGARY.

CONTACT DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL APPLiANCES.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 582,588, dated January 15, 1895.

Application filed February 19,1894- Serial No. 500,658. (No model.) Patented in Austria-Hungary November 2, 1893; No. 661 76 and No. 9,799; in France November 10,1893,N0. 233,957; in Belgium November 11, 1893,N0.107,135, and in Italy November 30.1893, No. 35,280/1'73.

To an whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRIEDRICH WILI-IELM ScHINDLER-JENNY, a citizen of Switzerland, and residing at the city of Kennelbach, near Bregenz, Austria-Hungary, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Contact Devices for Electrical Appliances, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in Austria- Hungary, No. 66,076 and No. 9,799, dated November 2, 1893; in France, No. 233,957, dated November 10, 1893; in Belgium, No. 107,185, dated November 11,1893, and in Italy, No. 35,280/173, dated November 30, 1893;) and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to produce a simple and efficient contact device which will enable me to feed the current to the conductor or conductors so as to obtain one, two, three, or more, heat units according to the number of wires or conductors brought into the circuit.

The invention consists in what I will designate as a contact block provided with a leading-in wire having forks or branches to constitute two or more contact points, and a leadingout wire constituting another contact point, the contact-block being removable or capable of sliding so that if one fork or branch of the leading-in wire be brought in contact with a single conductor wire and the leadingout wire be connected with the same conductor wire there will be one heat unit produced, and if two forks or branches of the leading-in wire be connected with two conductors or wires and both of said wires be connected with the leading-out wire there will be two heat units produced, and so on according to the number of conductor wires, or the nun1- ber of forks or branches of the leading-in wire that may be employed.

An illustration of this invention is given in the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1, 2 and 3 represent sectional side views of the device, each figure showing the contact-block in a different position.

In the drawings the letter A designates the contact-block of any suitable insulating material and provided with the leading-in wire designated by the mark and represented as formed within the block with two branches or forks leading to suitable contact points designated by the letters Z) and c, and also with the leading-out wire designated by the mark and represented as connected with the contact point to inside the contact-block which contact point a is illustrated as between the contact points I) and c.

The letter 9 designates what may be a body to be heated and formed of any suitable heat transmitting material which is preferably of a refractory character, for instance, a suitable fire clay. In this body there is made or embedded the conductor wires designated by the letters on and y which at their ends may terminate in or contact with any suitable form of contact points, for instance, such as designated by the letters 8, d and f.

If the contact-block A be placed in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 with the contact point e of the leading-in wire in contact with the contact point (1 of the conductor wire a; in the body g and the contact point a of the leading-out wire in contact with the contact point e of the same conductor wire 00, the circuit will be established so that the electric current will pass through the conductor wire w alone, thereby giving or producing a single heat unit If the contact block A be placed in the position illustrated in Fig. 2 so as to bring the side contact pointb of the leading-in wire in contact with the contact point at of the conductor wires 3 and y, and the contactpoint f of those wires in contact with the middle contact point a of the leading-out wire, the circuit will be established so that the current will pass from the leading-in wire to the conductor wires 1 y and out through the contact point fto the leading-out wire, thus giving or producing two heat units.

If the contact-block A be placed in the position illustrated in Fig. 3 so that the side contact points I) and 0 will be in contact with the contact points 6 and f of the conductor wires 00 and y y, and the contact point (1 of said wires in contact with the middle contact point a, the circuit will be established so that the current will be directed through the two branches or forks of the leading-in wire to the two side contact points I) and c and from thence through the contact pointse and f to the wires m and y y and thence out through the contact point at and the middle contact point a of the contact-block to the leading-out wire, thus giving or forming three heat units.

It is obvious that if one of the conductor wires y y should be omitted, only a single heat unit would be obtained if the contactblock should be arranged in the position shown in either Figs. 1 or 2 and that in such event the heat would be applied to one side or the other of the body 9 according as the contact point would be arranged as shown in Figs. 1 or 2, but that under the same conditions two heat units would be obtained if the contact points be arranged as shown in Fig. 3, as in the latter case the current would pass through both wires and out through the middle contact point and leading-out wire. It is also obvious that the number of conductor wires may be increased and thus the number of heat units obtained correspondingly increased.

The contact device is applicable to electric appliances or apparatuses of diderent kinds, but it is particularly well adapted to electric heating or cooking apparatuses where it may be desired to increase or lessen the heat, the heat being increased in proportion to the number of heat units employed, and proportionately decreased according to the number of heat units taken out of action.

It will be observed that the removable contact block or memberhas three contact points, of which the central one is connected with one pole,whilethetwolateralor side contactpoints have the other pole in common. It will be further observed that the body g-is provided with three contact points, insulated from one another, the central contact point forming a common pole to all of the conductors or circuits in the body while at the other pole the circuits will distribute themselves on the lateral or side contacts as one set of contacts may be ad justed over the other set. It is this arrangement that enables me to vary to the extent already specified the number of heat units.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is 1. A contact device for electrical appliances comprising a contact block or member provided with a leading-in wire or conductor having branches leading to two separate contact points and a leading-out wire having a contact-point between said leading-in contact points combined with the three other contactpoints and their conductors the middle one of said contact-points forming a common pole to all of said last mentioned conductors as described, whereby by adjustment of the contact points one or more of the leading in contact points may be connected in circuit with one or more of the conductors and the leadingout contact point for the purpose of regulating the units of heat as specified.

2. A contact-block or member provided with a leading-in wire or conductor having branches leading to separate contact points and with a leading-out wire or conductor having a contact point located intermediate of the contacts to the leading in wire, in combination with a plurality of wires or conductors having contact points adapted to register with the contact points of the wires or conductors of the contact-block or member, the said contactblock or member being adapted to be moved to establish circuit between one or more of the contact points of the leading-in wire and one or more of said wires or conductors, and the leading-out wire, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

FRIEDRICH WILIIELM SClIlNDLER-JENNY.

Witnesses:

J ULIUS A. BOURRY, H. RABHART. 

